Mass shooting suspect charged
MUSKOGEE — The suspect in Tuesday's mass shooting made the 911 call himself that brought officers to the house, police have disclosed.
Jarron Deajon Pridgeon, 25, asked for emergency medical services to be sent to their location, a police spokeswoman, Lynn Hamlin, said at a press briefing Wednesday.
“The suspect came out of the home with a weapon in his hand and refused to drop it,” she also disclosed.
He did not have the gun when he was arrested after a short pursuit but a weapon has been recovered, she said.
P ridge on was charged Wednesday with six counts of first-degree murder, one count of shooting with intent to kill and one count of possession of a firearm while on probation. The Muskogee County district attorney, Orvil
Loge, said a decision on the death penalty will be made at a later date.
“I'm not going to talk about a motive,” the district attorney said.
Pridgeon is accused in the charge of fatally shooting his brother and five children Tuesday morning inside a house in this city in eastern Oklahoma.
They were identified as Javarion Lee, 24; Jalai ya Pridgeon, 1; Jaidus Pridgeon, 3; Harmony Anderson, 5; Neveah Pridgeon, 6; and Que'dynce Anderson, 9.
The three with the last name Pridgeon were his children, their aunt said.
He also is accused of shooting the children' s mother,
Brittany Anderson, 27, in the head. She was being treated for her injuries at a Tulsa hospital.
Officers responded to a call about t he shooting at 1 : 30 a.m. Tuesday and encountered Pridgeon with a gun at the house, police reported. He fled on foot after an officer fired but missed.
Pridgeon was caught after a short pursuit.
Pridgeon is on probation for throwing a piece of cement at a woman in 2019. He pleaded guilty to a felony, assault and battery, for that offense.
He and Brittany Anderson were a couple and had“a great bond,” her sister, Raven Anderson, said.
“They weren't perfect. They argued. All couples argue but it was never anything bad,” she said .“This ... was completely unexpected. There were no signs, no indication that something would happen, especially this. ... They were a good couple.”
The two had five children together, the sister said.
Pridgeon had been working in Texas and just recently returned to Muskogee, she said.
“He was getting the house and everything set up because my sister and them were supposed to move out to Texas,” Raven Anderson said. “I really don't know what happened with that.”
Brittany Anderson was charged herself last week
— with child neglect.
She was accused in the charge of exposing her daughter to drugs before birth. The daughter's cord blood tested positive for opiates after birth, according to a court affidavit.
A Go Fund Me has been established to raise funds for funeral expenses. By Wednesday night, almost $40,000 had been raised.